Meet the West Belfast schoolboy who bravely stands before his classmates to tell them about living with Asperger syndrome.

Ryan Laird is just 11 but he wanted to raise awareness for his condition so his peers could have a better understanding.

The Springfield Primary School pupil also gave his presentation to other classes and is now set to spread his message even further by speaking to teachers at a school in Ballyclare.

Proud mum Gill, who also has seven-year-old daughter Abbie with husband Alan, told Belfast Live: "Ryan was diagnosed with Asperger's years ago but now he is old enough to understand how it affects him and he is trying to take control of it I feel.

"He would have meltdowns like any other child with autism but he has not for a while.

"He was at a party for one of his friends from school which was at We Are Vertigo. Now he has a real sensitivity to noise and crowds and he just could not cope with the noise and had a meltdown.

"His friends gathered around trying to help and it made him worse. When we came out that day I said, 'Why don't you tell your friends why that happened'.

"I meant one to one but Ryan took it his own way. He is very smart, he has an IQ of 138 - his maths is fantastic and he has been reading since he was four without being taught.

"His anxiety and social skills are the problem but he is a whizzkid on the computer.

"Ryan being Ryan said he thought he would tell them, he said, 'I think I will make a powerpoint presentation'.

"I said OK and that's what he did. It was half-term and he took his computer to his granny's house every day and sat and made the presenation.

"He took it to school and said to his teacher, they are fantastic at his school and said yes.

"Then he did the presentation to his class and another few classes. He starts it off saying he is sick of people saying things about him, which I did not realise was happening. I think it is more on the street than in school.

"He started saying that and then what he found difficult and what people with Asperger's generally do. He understood it a lot more than I realised."

Ryan Laird and sister Abbie

Asperger syndrome - a form of autism - is a lifelong disability that affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people.

Mum Gill added: "For a child who finds it hard to give you eye contact, for him to stand up in front of a room of people and give a presentation, it's amazing.

"I would be very open in telling people what it is, I think if you do not then people will not understand.

"It's not something to be ashamed of."

Since news of his presentation spread, Ryan has been asked to speak to a group of teachers at a school in Ballyclare.

"Someone I was friends with contacted me to ask if he would come and talk to the teachers at her school in Ballyclare where she is the special needs teacher," said Gill.

Ryan, who was officially diagnosed when he was 9, told Belfast Live: "I just wanted to do it, not because they were teasing me because that wouldn't happen at my school, but I just wanted to make them know more because sometimes they are a bit curious about things I do.

"I told them things like you get strengths and weaknesses from it.

"I was quite happy to do it, I was looking forward to it. I was telling my class and then a few classes after. I just wanted to do something to make them more aware.

"I was telling them about the strengths as well, some can have a high IQ, Asperger's is not just a bad thing."